Week 6

When reading the set readings I was overwhelmed by the amount of legal and ethical issues that needed to be considered when working within the public relations industry. I found that legality was a major consideration when practicing public relations in a modern context. In summary, the key points I learnt from this week's readings were that the reputation of an organisation is a key interest for PR practitioners and to ensure this reputation is upheld laws are put into place. Defamation laws limit what public relations practitioners can publish but also protects them against opposing defamation threats. Defamation is only accountable when the defaming material is published, where the organisation or person being defamed is identifiable to a person of average intelligence and the publication is defamatory (Breit 2006). However to counteract defamation it must be shown that the facts published were true or absolutely privileged. Copyright is another major factor that PR practitioners need to be concerned about. The Copyright Act 1968 gives copyright owners exclusive economic rights to copy, publish, adapt and communicate their material (Breit, 2006). However it is essential that practitioners are aware of copyright requirements such as registering business names and logos. Contracts also need to be considered when working in public relations. Contracts act as proof of an agreement and need to be signed by both parties. Contracts are a widespread device used by PR professionals and legal action can be taken if either party does not abide by the contract requirements.

The Legal Environment (Breit 2006) chapter was extremely helpful in describing and identifying legal aspects that effect the day to day operations of public relations. The examples of legal cases used within the text such as the McDonalds case and the Slater and Gordon case were very beneficial to my understanding of what the legal aspects of PR entailed and what needs to be considered when practicing public relations.

My learning builds upon previous learning about public relations in that not only does legality play a major role in public relations but the role of ethical practice is also extremely important. I found it interesting to read that Public relations practitioners have constantly been labelled by media and stakeholder groups as spin-doctors. To oppose this view it is imperative for PR professionals to act socially responsible and respect and value others. Sieb and Fitzpatrick (1995) explain the five duties of PR professionals: oneself, the client, the employer, the profession and the society. Being aware of these duties should guide PR practitioners to make ethically sound decisions within and organisations. However I found it interesting that in order to act ethically PR professional also have to face challenges. These include interpersonal challenges occurring between PR practitioners and peers or superiors, organisational challenges between practitioners and an organisation’s internal policies and stakeholder challenges arising between an organisation and publics. I found that in order to avoid unethical practice it was vital for the CEO to present an ethical example working within an ethical framework.

Throughout both readings it is emphasised that in order to act as a socially responsible PR practitioner it is vital to work within a legal and ethical framework built on decent moral and legal values.

Week 5

In summary, the key points I learnt from this week's readings was the importance of strategic thinking in Public Relations. Strategy is a series of planned activities designed and integrated to achieve a stated organisational goal in a contested environment (Johnson and Zawawi, 2004). I was particularly intrigued by the quote “you are only likely to be as good a public relations practitioner as your CEO will allow you to be” (Johnson and Zawawi, 2004: 172). This made me realise the grave importance of continual two-way communication between PR practitioners and higher management in the development of strategic plans.

In order to understand, respond to or shift attitudes I believe that planning is fundamental. My learning builds upon previous learning about public relations in that I learnt that before implemented a strategy it is extremely important to research opinions, define a target audience and establish organisational objectives. These objectives are integral for a business and must strive to be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented and within a specific a time frame). Budgeting is also a major part of strategic planning. I learnt that no plan can succeed without successful monitoring and controlling of an organisations resource. This is where healthy communication with higher management is vital. Competition for these resources is fierce and as PR practitioners we need to negotiate with management for our slice (Johnson and Zawawi, 2004). Evaluation and scheduling is another vital part of the planning process. Chapter 7 ‘strategy, planning and scheduling’ assisted me to visualise the evaluation and scheduling processes with the illustration of sample checklists, flowcharts and Gantt charts. It also assisted me with the concept of planning as a whole with the helpful case studies provided.

Week 4

In summary, the key points I learnt from this week's readings was that effective “internal communication” or communication with employees (ideally two-way meaningful interaction) is a critical contributor to employee satisfaction and in turn is a major factor in the overall success of an organisation. I understood that communication with employees is aimed at creating meaning and influencing how members of an organisation behave in regards to a business’s target objectives. In other words successful internal communication can lead to the achievement of a company’s goals or vision (Tymson, Lazar & Lazar, 2006 pp. 314).

As an employee of a large organisation I entirely agreed with the author’s research that states “employees want communication on a variety of topics” (Tymson et al. 2006 pp. 320). I enjoy when my manager communicates and listens to me about job roles, training, feedback, recognition and involvement, all of which add to my overall job satisfaction.

My learning builds upon previous learning about public relations in that I found it extremely interesting that the “best practice” communication approach towards an organisation is non-existent. I learnt that communication approaches that may work for one business may not work for another. However there are still general guidelines that seem to apply to all organisations. The medium of communication within a business is crucial to the work you are in e.g. sending emails to employees may be very effective for IT workers but may not be as effective for those in the fast food industry (Tymson et al. 2006 pp. 326).

The main points I took away from the James (2006) reading was that there are so many diverse jobs available within the PR sector. It was really helpful to read the interviews with PR professionals filled with helpful hints on how to achieve a job within the PR profession. It was reiterated on many occasions just how important a mistake-free resume is and how crucial it is to have researched a business before diving straight into an interview.

It really gives hope to people like me, who are currently studying communications, to see that marketing communications manager Heidi Alexander Pollard and marketing manager Angela Scrymgmour both graduated from Newcastle University with a Bachelor of Communications and are now both very successful professionals.

Week 3

When reading the prescribed texts I was initially shocked about the number of differing theories that were applied to the practice of PR. I found that theory could basically be classified as a set of tested assumptions and hypotheses about how the world works which can be used to explain and predict public relations practices. (Johnson and Zawawi, 2004).

My learning builds upon previous learning about public relations in that I was extremely surprised to find that until recently most public relations theories were borrowed from alternate areas of study. However is it apparent that borrowed theories such as agenda setting, (the way news is selected and the effects of selection and omission of news on the public) systems theory, (the idea that organisation work within either closed or open systems referring to the amount communication flow inside or outside an organisation) semiotic approaches (the study of signs on the form of words, symbols and sound which represent something) and Habermas’s critical theory (the way people discuss freely in public in regards to their culture) are all of grave importance in PR practice (Johnson and Zawawi, 2004).

I found that apart from these borrowed theories there has since been the development of theories from within the public relations sector. The most common of these newly developed PR theories is the “four model” approach taken by Grunig and Hunt (1984). These include press agentry, public information, two-way asymmetrical and two-way symmetrical. The most prominent of these is the two-way symmetrical model also named the “excellence model” for its attempt to balance the interests of the organisation and its publics. Since its development this theory has come under a lot of scrutiny but after reading the text I believe it is still the most effective way of PR communication in many circumstances (Gower, 2006).

In summary, the key points I learnt from this week's readings were that there are many applied theories to PR and each of these have both positive and negative points. However to grasp a greater understanding of PR I find that it is important to consider all of theories for different situations. I also feel it is integral to utilise these theories to help predict a future for PR as a whole. In conjunction with this I believe that we must develop new theories to account for our newly globalised public. The existing localised theories can become rather inadequate when being compared on a global scale. It is now out challenge as potential future practitioners of PR to consider the effects of globalisation and advancement in technology as a suggested direction for future study (Gower, 2006).